Tammy Cunnington is seen here competing at the Olympic Trials in April 2016. (Swimming Canada/Scott Grant)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

"the right decision"

Red Deer Paralympian agrees with decision to not send Canadian athletes to Tokyo

Mar 23, 2020 | 10:36 AM

Red Deer Paralympian Tammy Cunnington says the decision of the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee to pull out of the 2020 Tokyo Games, should they go ahead this year, is the right move.

The COC & CPC made the announcement Sunday night, saying it won’t send its athletes if the Games take place this summer. They’re asking the International Olympic Committee to delay the Games until next year.

“It’s still a bit heartbreaking as there’s a chance the Games could be held without us,” says Cunnington, who competed at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio. “If they put them off until next year, who knows what will happen and where someone like myself will fit into the competition.”

The Catalina Swim Club member was scheduled to compete at the Swimming Canada Trials at the end of this month in Toronto. That event, which decides who qualifies for the Olympics and Paralympics, was postponed on March 13.

“Other people are facing far greater challenges than us not being able to play sports and compete at the Games,” she admits.

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“I’ll keep my thoughts with people suffering deaths of family members and financial hardship. My family is safe and healthy, and my husband and I are safe and healthy. That’s what matters most right now.”

Cunnington plans to train, though without a pool, until at least the end of June, which is when local facilities have been closed until.

“I’ll continue hand-cycling and weight training in my basement, and then see what decisions are made as the summer progresses.”

Sunday’s announcement by the COC and CPC came just hours after the IOC announced it would take the next month to consider postponement.

“We offer [the IOC] our full support in helping navigate all the complexities that rescheduling the Games will bring,” a COC/CPC statement reads. “While we recognize the inherent complexities around a postponement, nothing is more important than the health and safety of our athletes and the world community.”

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has stated that a postponement is inevitable if the Games cannot be held in a complete way.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in his daily briefing on Sunday that the Canadian decision is the “right call.”